At any point in time, we find the reasons people choose to remodel fascinating, and it is easy to be passionate about helping them reach their goals, their new vision of home. There is something new and different about the moment right now. A full set of circumstances today adds to the reasons folks are finding it wise to stay in the home they know and use our ingenuity to make it fit them better.
The First Answer is Yes
The first question in evaluating whether to move or remodel is whether your current location suits you. Because we are blessed to call the Carolina coast our home, most folks here answer that question with a resounding, “Yes.” In fact, their home in the Lowcountry is the reward for many, the culmination that caps years of planning and a career of hard work. From perspectives such as this, location becomes the first reason many people choose to remodel.
The second basic question is whether your current home can be modified to make life easier or more enjoyable. Again, the answer for most folks here is yes. Insights in design and breakthroughs in materials, appliances, and fixtures mean that kitchens, baths, and outdoor living spaces all qualify for upgrades. Enhancements such as these come with the reassuring sense that they will also enhance the value of your home when the time does come to consider moving.
The last of the three basic questions is whether your home has enough room. Here again, the usual answer is yes among most of the folks we meet. If anything, their needs for space have tended to subside rather than increase, as children grow and establish homes of their own. Making effective use of the rooms they vacate, in fact, is the subject of some of our most productive conversations about remodeling.
When You Run the Numbers
The considerable rise in home equity that resulted from the boom real estate markets of recent years brings with it the benefit of securing favorable financing, if needed, for taking up the option of remodeling. Although money is hardly free anymore, the best terms are available to those who have equity as collateral.
The cost itself currently weighs in favor of remodeling, too. Forbes magazine recently broke it down this way: On average, home renovation costs nationally are around $100 per square foot. Buying an existing house currently costs about $120 and building a new one runs about $150 per square foot. Renovation also entails little or no moving cost.
From the Perspective of ROI
The same Forbes article ranks the expected return on investment for certain home renovations, and it points out that even smaller-scale and less-expensive renovation projects can return handsomely on the cost.
Large or small kitchen remodels, small bathroom remodels, deck or patio additions, basement finishing, and attic remodels lead the Forbes list for ROI in the current financial environment.
Whether your decision is to remodel or to build, we welcome the chance to talk it over and offer the perspective of our experience.
